Name Calling
by MangoGrape
Summary: Wheatley discovers preschool is not always a very fun place.


**Wheatley was excited. He didn't know why, but he was excited. Perhaps it was because of the way his mummy and daddy had described how fun today was supposed to be for him. They hadn't exactly explained why it was fun, but he gave them the benefit of the doubt.**

Today was his very first day of preschool. He had to admit, he was a bit nervous. Having your parents drop you off in an unknown environment for a couple hours didn't sound like the ideal definition of fun. But he aimed to make the most of it.

Wheatley scurried excitedly into the classroom, much too excitedly in fact, that he tripped over his own feet and wound up flat on his face. The boy didn't hesitate to pick himself up again and go right back to running.

In the center of the room he spied a large group of children that looked to be about his age. He happily trotted in their direction, eager to make some new friends.

"Hello!" Wheatley shouted. Sadly, the two of his peers he had wished to speak to-an albino little girl and a black haired little boy- were much too wrapped up in their own conversation to acknowledge the brunette. Either that or they were purposely ignoring him. Slightly discouraged but with a still intact spirit, Wheatley set off to find somebody else to talk to.

He looked around him until his spotted a lone child playing by himself in the corner. Perhaps he wanted a play mate.

"Hello!" Wheatley greeted him. The messy haired red head turned towards him with a toothy grin, one that was almost border line creepy.

"Space!" He squealed. Wheatley cocked his head in confusion.

"Huh?" he asked. The other jumped to his feet.

"Space! I wanna go to space!" the redhead declared. "Do you wanna go too?" he asked. The brunette paused for a moment, unsure of how to respond.

"Uh... What's your name?" Wheatley asked. His possible-new-friend lost the cheeky smile he once possessed, confused beyond belief.

"Um... It's... Uh... I forget." . What? How could you forget your own name? He had to admit, Wheatley had a bad memory himself, but even he could remember his name.

Wheatley didn't bother further with the boy, leaving the space loving moron to his shenanigans. He'd been told time and time again that beggers can't be choosers, but maybe this time could be an exception. Anyway, he'd acquired a new target that happened to be sitting smack dab in the middle of the classroom.

The boy he had laid eyes on was covered in bandages and bruises, presumably from lots of rough housing. Wheatley watched as the boy built himself a owner out of blocks. It was a beautiful tower, really. Although a bit lopsided. But nobody's perfect.

BOOM! The black haired boy crashed into the structure, smashing it to pieces. He then began rebuilding it, probably about to repeat the exact same process. Maybe he would even let Wheatley play with him.

"Hello!" Wheatley said. The boy stared at him for a moment, looking him over. He was dressed much too neatly. And what was wrong with his voice? He wasn't entirely sure, but maybe this new acquaintance wasn't from around there.

"...Hi." he finally replied. Wheatley sat down net to him. The boy slipped just a bit farther from Wheatley not sure he wanted to talk to him. Wheatley, oblivious to this, scooted closer.

"What's your name?" Wheatley asked.

"Rick." Rick replied. Rick. Wheatley liked that name! It had a nice ring to it. Rick, rick, rick.

"Cool! My name is Wheatley." he announced. Rick furrowed his brow.

"That's a weird name." he said. Wheatley frowned. He didn't think that his name was weird. "Who's even named that?". Wheatley crossed his arms.

"Me!" he said defensively. Rick stood up, holding a couple of blocks protectively to his chest.

"Well it's a really dumb name. You talk funny too." He said. Wheatley felt tears gathering in his eyes. How was it his fault that he was named Wheatley? It wasn't like he named himself. And he'd talked in such a way since he could remember. Talking like the mean boy wouldn't be an easy task.

"I don't wanna play with you." Rick decided. And with that he walked off, carrying as many blocks as he could.

By this time, Wheatley couldn't contain himself anymore. Buckets of tears poured down his face as he sat in a fetal position, legs pulled up to his chest and his arms wrapped around himself protectively. He didn't like preschool anymore. The people there were mean and he missed being at home. Home. That's where he wanted to go.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of somebody walking up to him. Wheatley looked up into the face of a girl about his age. She wore her brunette hair in a messy pony tail and her body was concealed by a bright orange dress. The two exchanged stares for a minute before she held up her hand and waved at him.

"Hi..." Wheatley sniffed. She sat down beside him, laying some paper out in front of them both. The girl offered him some crayons to draw with. "You...want to play with me?" he asked. She nodded, handing the drawing utensils to him.

Wheatley dried his tears, feeling somewhat better now that someone had asked to play with him. He paused for a minute and then popped a question.

"What's your name?" he asked. The girl hesitated, as if she were having trouble speaking the word. Which she was.

"Chell." she told him, her voice barely above a whisper. Wheatley giggled, delighted by this information.

"I like your name!" Wheatley exclaimed. Chell was fun to say. A lot more fun than Rick. Chell pointed to Wheatley expectantly. "Hm? Are you... Asking what my name is?" he asked. She nodded. Wheatley twiddled his fingers nervously. What if his new friend made fun of his name and didn't want to play with him anymore? What a nightmare that would be.

"It's... Wheatley..." Wheatley whispered shyly. Chell smiled in a comforting way. "Do you like my name?" he asked. The brunette nodded, that giddy smile still plastered to her face. And Wheatley smiled back. Yep, Chell was definitely a better name than Rick.


End file.
